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In sandy or boggy woodlands which have not been subject to a recent fire
serviceberries can grow. Flowering is a very brief period on the first
warm and sunny days in late April; a protracted cold and rainy period
at that time of year may result in little or no flowering.
Individuals growing on banks and edges will often bloom more profusely.
The individual pictured is probably A. arborea or the closely
related A. canadensis.
Serviceberries can grow in very dry sandy woods; however, these locations would
have been subject to fire in pre-European contact times, excluding this fire
intolerant species. It is probable that it grew primarily in places too wet
to burn.
The other common name for this plant is 'juneberry', which refers to the edible red berry-like fruit that appears in June. The fruit is generally bland and seedy, and rarely eaten by humans.
Amelanchiers make a nice ornamental shrum for sandy areas. The flowers are fragile and delicate lasting only a few days in mid to late April; they wonderful in a Japanese garden. They will grow well at the base of an oak tree, and has attractive serpentine gray bark in winter, and because they rarely exceed 30' to 40' feet in height, they can be fit into an area where a large tree would not. Planning for a dark background (such as a pine or spruce) and a sunny exposure will help make their fleeting springtime display a Haiku moment.
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